1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the telecommunications field, and in particular, to a method and system for (i) determining or estimating present traffic levels and for predicting future traffic levels in wireless communications systems and (ii) optionally increasing the resources thereof in response to the ascertained traffic levels.
2. Description of Related Art
Wireless communication enables subscribers to place and receive calls from various locations. The increased safety, productivity, and convenience of wireless communication has led to explosive growth across most wireless networks. Meeting the demands of this explosive growth can be difficult and costly. The wireless system is planned well in advance of deployment and is subsequently periodically updated and expanded according to subscriber demands.
Responses to busy traffic levels and growth can include splitting one cell with one base station (BS) into two cells with two BSs. It can also include increasing the resources within a given BS so that the given BS may simultaneously service more subscribers. If expansion of the wireless network fails to precede demand, then potential revenue can be forfeited and, perhaps, relationships with customers may be permanently injured. If, on the other hand, expansion unnecessarily outgrows demand, then capital may be squandered because equipment is prematurely installed and consequently underutilized.
It would therefore be beneficial (e.g., short- and long-term income-maximizing) if wireless service providers could expand their networks concomitantly with busy traffic levels and the predicted growth demands of subscribers. It would be especially advantageous if wireless service providers could expand their networks such that their ability to provide wireless services increases in accordance with increases in busy traffic levels, and just prior to subscriber growth that will consume their expanded ability. Unfortunately, such well-timed expansion usually requires that busy hour traffic levels be ascertained and that subscriber growth be accurately predicted for both an entire wireless communications network and for its individual cells.
In order to predict a future traffic level, conventional techniques employ a simple linear model based on the recorded traffic data in the relevant market. This model is inadequate for meeting the requirements of the operator because it is very difficult to estimate the possible growth function on individual cells. In other words, the forecasting of future traffic levels is inaccurate due to the use of an insufficiently complex mathematical model.
In summary, conventional wireless communications systems have heretofore inadequately accounted for subscriber requirements during peak access periods, and inaccurately predicted future traffic growth. Consequently, wireless service providers have been unable to optimally provide resources to meet subscriber demands.